flow advice

jstack

jstack

New member
Hey RC I was wondering for a 56 column tank 30x18x24 how much flow from my circulation pumps should I be shooting for? my reef octopus say's 350 and my mini brs gfo/carbon says 150. nothing is set up atm just getting ready will be a heavy Lps w/Sps
......also has anyone ever mixed the black sand with oolite?
 
wow the level of isolation on a forum for noob's never expected this. well RC i'm out 2 threads wasted gg
 
I don't think you're being ignored. It's probably just that nobody has any answers for the questions being asked.

*You asked how much flow from your circulation pumps for a 56g tank, stating that your reef octopus says 350 and your reactor says 150......this is confusing. Your reef octopus skimmer requires a 350 gph pump for it to function properly, and your mini-reactor will require 150 gph to function properly.

*If you're asking how much flow do you need for a 56g display tank, are you referring to powerhead/wavemaker flow or total volume circulation in regards to an overflow/return system?

*I have never personally mixed black sand with Oolite, nor I have I seen any pictures of it having been done. That being said, I see no harm in it except for the larger grain sizes eventually settling to the bottom of the bed while the Oolite will stay on top.

This is a great forum with a wealth of knowledge. Patience goes far in this hobby, even when it comes to thread post replies.

Hope this helps and GL! :bigeyes:
 
I'll see if I can give you a few answers. You did post at 2:13 am and waited just barely over an hour. Most of the people on RC are sleeping at this time of day. So a little patience does go a long way, especially in the hobby but give people time to see if they can even answer your questions. Many of those reading posts are doing so to be able to learn and might not have an answer.

Ok The amount of flow needed for your tank being mostly LPS dominate IMO I would try adding one 800 gph powerhead on an opposite side of your tank towards your return line, assuming that you have a sump with return pump. So more info on your tank is needed to give you a "best" answer.

On the mixing the black sand with the oolite? Personally I wouldn't do it, I personally wouldn't do the oolite sand. I would buy a med grade Aragonite sand, this is pretty much a reef standard. Also the depth of sand bed might need to be deeper if you have wrasses or other fish that will make their home in the sandbed but a 2"-3" sandbed is pretty standard.

There is a sticky called Setting UP with a big red arrow at the top of this New to the Hobby forum. This will answer most any question that you could come up with. I highly suggest you review all that's in there and read. Knowledge is number 1 in saltwater reefing IMO.

Anyway, Welcome to Reef Central and maybe give a little bit of time for things to be answered. Usually all questions get answered, sometimes slower than others. If you have any specific questions after doing your study of what you want and how to do it, by all means ask. There are many of us here that are more than happy to help out new people in the hobby!
 
I'd stick to one sand time. I don't think it would look good mixed IMO. Good luck, hope you show more patience with your tank than you do waiting for answers here.
 
first off my first thread had 400+ views one guy chimed in this is my 2nd attempt at communication yes i have patience I would have set the damn thing up.
 
When I replied to this particular post this morning, you had exactly 64 views. On the other post, it looks like it was late night as well. I agree that it's probably just bad timing.

I took the liberty of copying some of your current info. here...I think it will help:

56 column w/stand
50lb's of reef saver DR
40lb's of Ag/ol sand (did not want to go over 2 inch)
ro/di 50gpd (does this really trickle out this slow)
2 Fluval 50 gal circ pumps
Prime,Mb7, Ph+
150 watt ehiem I think
so there is what I have and where I am stuck. 1 I cannot own a sump ftm So after alot of research on the last 3 Items I need will it be good enough? Yes i do know the reef oct 100 is the same price but the tunze has some great review's.
I would like to run the Tunze 9004 alongside a aquaclear 70 packed with elite chemipure, poldpads and gfo would that suffice?
what are my goal's WALL HAMMERS OMG, zoanthids please alot of the Lps maybe a few Sps much later Monti/birds nest. As for the fish I would like to have 3 orange-back fairy wrasse 1 flame angel,goby and maybe a black-cap bass.
if you made it this far bless your heartxD
 
I'm up all night long, so that's probably why I was one of the early birds on this particular post.

No worries. I find that questions are better answered if asked or listed one at a time...Kind of like this:

1. How much flow?
2. Which pump is better?
3. etc., etc.

I try to respond to questions that I have personal experience with. I don't have any personal experience with most of your equipment and questions, but I'm sure others will chime in.

Again, good luck! At least you have some freshwater experience under your belt. :bigeyes:
 
jstack said:
Hey RC I was wondering for a 56 column tank 30x18x24 how much flow from my circulation pumps should I be shooting for? my reef octopus say's 350 and my mini brs gfo/carbon says 150. nothing is set up atm just getting ready will be a heavy Lps w/Sps

......also has anyone ever mixed the black sand with oolite?
Click to expand...


Run a quick search for "flow/gph ___" the blank will be filled in with FOWLR, lps, or sps as the answer to your question will depend on your tank preferences.

IIRC, 30x volume will be a minimum - but I haven't looked it up recently.

-ryan

Ps - I think it's in the sticky already mentioned.
 
I like 40x the tank volume unless you are sps heavy. So for a 56, a little more than 2,200 gph. That's just a starting point tho. It's really unpredictable how the water will bounce off the rocks and glass, and the patterns from a big powerhead are really diff from a couple little ones. I don't count the return, or any hang on skimmers or reactors in that number.

You just have to play around with it. The goal is to have no dead spots where poop settles, stale water from the bottom being pushed up to refresh at the surface, and a good amount of movement at the surface so that you don't have a greasy film. The tank uses oxygen so the water must pass by the air so things don't suffocate. Also, the flow brings food to the corals but lps don't like to get whipped around too hard, they prefer a sort of "fluffing" flow over strong blasts from one direction.
 
CStrickland said:
I like 40x the tank volume unless you are sps heavy. So for a 56, a little more than 2,200 gph. That's just a starting point tho. It's really unpredictable how the water will bounce off the rocks and glass, and the patterns from a big powerhead are really diff from a couple little ones. I don't count the return, or any hang on skimmers or reactors in that number.

You just have to play around with it. The goal is to have no dead spots where poop settles, stale water from the bottom being pushed up to refresh at the surface, and a good amount of movement at the surface so that you don't have a greasy film. The tank uses oxygen so the water must pass by the air so things don't suffocate. Also, the flow brings food to the corals but lps don't like to get whipped around too hard, they prefer a sort of "fluffing" flow over strong blasts from one direction.
Click to expand...


All of this is why people run multiple smaller powerheads instead of a few super large powerheads.

I have one placed along the backside of the tank towards the bottom and one placed along the top front of the tank to create that circulation 30-40x. Careful not to put it so close that it stirs up a dust storm or starts moving sand around.
 
I have a total of 1200 gph in my 40b and it's perfect for my LPS dominate tank. I wouldn't want any more but I have tried with an additional 800 gph powerhead and it's WAY too much for LPS IMO. I have mostly a gentle flow all over my tank accept where I have the SPS they're in much higher flow.
 
Last edited:
did you sleep in...... I figured you're type would have been the most prominent with double sided remarks good afternoon
 
ty .....did I make a mistake purchasing the 750 gph fluval circulation pump with that be to much power ?
 
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